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Please enjoy this quick update on what happened this week in the housing and financial markets.

 

The U.S. services sector contracted for the first time in about a decade last month, as the coronavirus pandemic brought economic activity to a screeching halt.

Household debt increased to a total of $14.3 trillion last quarter, the 23rd straight quarterly increase. Mortgage borrowing rose by $156 billion to $9.71 trillion.

Jobless claims came in at 3.17 million last week, bringing the 7-week total to 33.5 million. Despite huge numbers, the weekly decline in initial claims is a positive sign.

Over 3.8 million homeowners are in forbearance plans, representing 7.54% of all mortgages. The good news is that forbearance requests are now coming in more slowly.

A new study by ATTOM Data Solutions shows that May and June are the best months to sell a home, based on a study of 33 million single-family home sales from 2011-2019.

New-home transactions have reportedly doubled in the last two weeks as millennials from 31 to 40 years old show an increasing desire to buy.